Online PhD in Education

An online doctorate of education might help students develop tools to reflectively look at the current academic system and address its flaws. Instead of focusing on in-classroom teaching, classes teach about the overarching academic system. For instance, students may study subjects like education policy, curriculum theory, and teaching methods. Then, students could possibly have the chance to use this knowledge to conduct their own educational research to observe teaching challenges. After collecting data, they might even be able to author works to help overcome these obstacles.

Online Doctorate of Education Basics

Unlike other education degrees which focus on helping you teach a certain subject, doctorates focus on improving the educational system itself. The main goal of doctoral classes is to develop students’ skills and knowledge to challenge the academic status quo for the better. This way, students could study ways to create innovative and effective curriculums to address the changing needs of the student body. As part of this initiative, you could have the chance to take some of the following classes.

  • Education & Culture
  • Teaching Perspectives
  • Pedagogy
  • School Reform
  • Critical Leadership
  • Teaching Issues
  • Educational Politics
  • Grant Writing
  • Curriculum Change

Core curriculum may vary.  For more details about potential classes, speak with your intended program.  

Research Courses

To help achieve the goals of the above-mentioned curriculum, many online PhD in teaching programs also offer research courses. These courses are designed to allow students to conduct their own education related research. Research courses may allow students to study current curriculum and teaching methods and analyze their effectiveness. Then, they could present their findings as well as possible solutions.  Research related classes could include the following.

  • Research Practices
  • Quantitative Methods & Research
  • Designing Research Studies
  • Conducting Qualitative Research

Research topics vary by school. Speak with your intended program for more details.

Dissertation Requirement

The online doctorate in education usually culminates with a research based dissertation. This piece should display and interpret the data you collected in your research classes. Then, students could submit their findings in addition to their proposed solutions. This final product is then presented to the faculty of the education department for defense. Dissertation defenses are usually held on campus. Dissertation requirements may vary by school.

Online Doctorate in Education Applications

Online doctorate of education admissions aim to assess both your current abilities in the classroom and past academic performance. For starters, schools may require students to provide a 3.0 or higher graduate GPA in addition to GRE scores. Please note that these programs might require previous graduate experience as opposed to undergrad. For more information about other grad degrees, check out the online masters in general education page.

Additionally, you may also be asked to have completed 3 years of practical teaching. Translated, this means you’ve been teaching professionally for 3 years. You also may be required to be currently teaching. Admission requirements vary by school, so be sure to check for more details!

Program Length

Completing the above-mentioned classes and dissertation usually requires students to take 90 credit hours of courses. Students could potentially earn an online PhD in teaching 3 years.

Did you know? 11,152 students earned a Doctorate of Education in 2015.i That’s almost 1,000 more than 2014!

Culminate Your Academics with an Online Doctorate of Education

Earning an online doctorate in education could be the culmination of your teaching studies. To begin your search for a perfect program, start by browsing the list of links on this page. Clicking a link provides you with a brief description about the potential program. You could also request more info. This may provide you with additional details like admissions deadlines, dissertation requirements, and faculty bios.


[i] https://datausa.io/profile/cip/13/#demographics